The haul is turning out to be even longer than I anticipated.
After writing my first ME fanfic/headcanon, "A Longer Haul," to give "m!Shenko" the happy ending that I wanted so badly for them following Synthesis- the ME3 ending that appealed most to me and by extension my primary Shepard, Hadrian'- two things happened. First, I got a very kind reception from readers on . A number of reviewers took my interpretation to heart, and encouraged me to proceed with the sequel I was kinda'-sorta' mulling over. And second, I found I still wasn't quite ready to put aside these characters (and maybe I never will be). I just love them and their story too much, and the post-Synthesis galaxy started to swirl with possibilities.
So I forged ahead, and a year after ME3 released (and ~10 months after I published "ALH") I've finished "Disconnected," wherein I explore some themes that preoccupy me. There's the question of how Shepard deals with his resurrection (again), this time knowing that it was a more meaningful sacrifice than man-hours and credits- a stranger gave his life so that Hadrian could enjoy the fruits of his labours. But the way that came about meant that Hade doesn't actually know exactly how he died, so he's in a bit of a quandry- "what did I do to deserve this?" I guess it's a crisis of grace. And his new husband, Kaidan, is in the position of wanting to just enjoy their second chance together. This, of course, demands the pain of separation.
"Disconnected" introduces a new antagonist, the Puritans, who serve a dual purpose. One the one hand, they're a metaphor for the politically and morally contentious practice of drone warfare in the modern global village- when people are increasingly connected by the ability to communicate, how do you victimize people except to silence and dehumanize them? It speaks to killing by the impersonal push of a button. But they're also the less sympathetic 'voice' that objects to Synthesis- a stand-in for my fellow gamers who argued (wrongly, in my opinion) that it marked the end of individuality, of freedom, and a betrayal of everything Shepard fought for. The Puritans make that judgement by ignoring, as some gamers do, the personal account (by EDI in 'EC') of the good Synthesis achieved. I did try to be fair, though, and the story does include another 'anti-Synthesis' advocate- who may come as a surprise- to give credit to those who offered a more nuanced criticism of that ending.
More than anything else, though, "Disconnected" is fundamentally about communication- learning to communicate, and failing to. Wanting to, sometimes needing to, and sometimes not being able to. Whether it's not understanding what your spouse is feeling, or it's struggling to be heard by people who disagree with you- from the revelations that come out of new relationships, to an immigrant family's polyglottal dinner table- I wanted this story to stress how vital it is that we open ourselves up to the possibility of getting to know each other better, to cultivate respect and affection and forgiveness; and to show the serendipity that can happen when our minds are open that way. Appropriately, my Shepard's Buddhism moves a bit more to the foreground- I felt it fit because the galaxy's entering an 'era of compassion,' and because Shepard's 'good karma' has kinda seen him 'reincarnated.'
I started writing it before Extended Cut, before there was Leviathan, and finished it just days before the release of Citadel, so I've also tried to reconcile in one way or another the content that was released after I wrote "A Longer Haul." A lot of the immediate and general post-game stuff that I wrote for "ALH," I'm kinda pleased to say, felt pretty prescient, but Leviathan and Citadel both wove threads into the canon that are now dangling in my continuity. So I've tried to touch upon them in editing, allowing them to peek through here and there.
That said, I feel like- providing there's sufficient demand to warrant the work of extracting the story that's continuing to unfold in my head- at least one more instalment is now in order. To tie up loose ends, and to deal with the aftermath of Puritans' incursion. But I can already tell that it would dwarf "Disconnected." So I would really appreciate feedback, to help me refine my work and as a sort of assurance that there's an audience for it. Otherwise I could just sit back and watch the movie in my mind and spare my fingers a lot of typing- the better to save them for playing Multiplayer (930+ hours and counting).
[May 9 edit]: For anyone curious about the SR-3 I've envisioned, the main and lower deck layouts are posted on my deviantart profile. A search for "CSV Normandy SR-3" should find them.